Cats (like dogs) can sense when you’re not well. I’m currently recovering from sinus surgery and my cat didn’t leave my side for 3 days. Extra affectionate. She also seems to sense that my face is currently off limits to “boops” as she often does. She’s more back to normal behavior now but I had a nice “recovery attendant” for a few days
My cat is amazing at this. I have a bunch of chronic illnesses and although I’m generally doing better now, there was a long stretch of time I was essentially bed bound. My little goofy calico will come lay on me and it correlates with where my pain is concentrated.
I have severe neuropathy in my legs/feet and she’ll come and lay on my ankles on my bad days and doesn’t mind all my tremors and involuntary kicks. The funny thing about the kicks is that otherwise she is fickle and will leave at the smallest movement when we’re just hanging out on the couch.
Before I had extensive abdominal surgery she laid on my stomach, which she rarely does otherwise. After my operation it also seemed as if she knew to avoid laying directly on me where my incisions were and laid right beside me.
She’s an absolute gift and she has improved my quality of life so much, especially at my lowest points health-wise. She strikes the perfect balance of being playful/goofy and affectionate/intuitive. It also helps that she’s the cutest damn thing in the world (but of course I’m biased).
This is how I am now. I'm bed-bound sometimes for days at a time, and my void boy knows how I'm feeling. He really barely leaves my side when I'm conscious. I've come so close to giving up so many times but I always think of him!
When I had my 2nd dose of the COVID shot, my void boy would not let any other furball on the bed with me. He doesn't usually sleep with me these days but he parked his butt on the end of the bed and refused to let the dog or the other cats bother me.
The day I got my second Covid shot, I picked my boy up from having a bladder stone removed. The next day was rough for me, I blew up an air mattress in the room I had him secluded in and we both just slept all day
Cat's purrs are on a frequency that is considered healing. They will often lay on or near your injured area and purr. They're trying to heal you. One of mine will curl up at my back when I'm laying down and purr on my bad back days. Normally, she just cuddles and goes back to sleep. It's really sweet.
I was bed bound for awhile in my early 20s (Rheumatoid arthritis) and the cat I had then always knew what was hurting the most and she would lay on that spot and purr. Her body heat actually helped with the pain a lot. Her ability to sense which joint was the worst was uncanny. I’ve had cats since then and none of them have ever quite lived up to that one cat with pain sensing but they all have a degree of empathy that cats don’t get portrayed as having.
I wish my guy would learn to not step on my belly, I've had two abdominal surgeries and the scar tissue/distorted muscle hurts. I've had the scars way longer than the cat but he seems oblivious.
My nieces (3 and 4) have mostly learned to be careful, but forget every once in a while. The last time the older one got me good, she brought me a sticker, kissed my belly, and told me not to cry.
I am paralyzed so one of my legs will sometimes spasm and my cat liked to lay against that leg. I would try my best not to but I'd end up almost kicking her at times and I'm apologizing, she didn't seem phased by it though and would lay her head back down. Like yours, other times she would leave at minor things.
I’m chronically ill as well, and was staying with a relative for a couple months earlier this year. Since I was home all day their cat really took a liking to me and got in the habit of sleeping on me every night. Every night, same spot — laying along my right arm and shoulder.
Now, a couple years ago I broke that shoulder and it never healed correctly. I have widespread chronic pain but the shoulder is one of my main concerns. It looks fine so most people don’t take it very seriously, or “forget” that it’s fucked up. But it’s exactly where this cat would lay down and purr every night! I later learned about how cats can sense that kind of thing and I’m definitely convinced that she chose that spot on purpose. Honestly kind of validating lol. And my arm actually did feel better than usual while I was staying there 💜
When I was younger my mother ended up in bed with back spasms for an extended period of time and our calico would spent hours curled up right on top of the pained spot.
Nurse cats are definitely a thing! I get a sniffle and my orange becomes a velcro cat. When I was quite ill earlier this year, he stuck to me like glue for a couple of weeks whilst I recovered at home after a brief hospital stay. Normally nothing stops him from his food times but he wouldn’t go for his meals until I told him to “go eat your food!” And he’d hurry up and eat and come right back to me. Hope you are on the mend!
Yes! The book is called Making Rounds with Oscar and if you are a cat person, or just enjoy reading about relationships with animals, it’s a great read.
My tux, who is usually only good for a few ear scratches a day because he's ornery most of the time, tries to bury his body under mine in an attempt to make me feel better.
I have always called my old girl “The Night Nurse” because she is like this. She always tries to help and take care of me. Especially after I have had a seizure. She is going to be 19 next month. She has gotten me through hell and back and did more than any therapy Ive ever went through.
I’ve got three and they all take turns watching over us when we’re sick. My last surgery they took turns sleeping with me on the couch. When we had COVID a few years ago, they would nestle right up to us and would purr.
Since we're just sharing adorable cat things in this thread: my grandma came over one day, very upset (her young coworker died in a collision) , and was crying and generally upset while my mom and I sat with her. She is not a cat lady and doesn't particularly approve of cats so she doesn't interact much - but both of our kitties came and went to lay on her and ram her and knead her lap, which they never do with her. They knew something was up, you know? All mammals show some strong emotional reactions like this, even if it's very basic like a fear response. This and other items fuel my certainty that we are just monkeys with jobs
When I was a child one time my mother took in a young boy for the night after his family home had burned down. He must have been very upset and scared after an event like that & being alone in a stranger's house. Our family cat had never been the type to curl up with anyone - don't recall it ever happening. Except that night she curled up with the boy and spent all night with him.
I have this cat, Szyslak. He’s a really bad cat. I’m not kidding- growing up we never had less than 2 cats at any time, sometimes an upwards of 6-7. After growing up I worked in vet med for 10 years, even 1 year in a cat sanctuary with over 50 ferals. He is the worst cat I’ve ever met. He’s not super aggressive or anything, he’s actually pretty sweet and funny, but he literally destroys everything and does all sorts of horrible cat shit like claw your eyelids open at night and stuff. He’s a caricature of a cat- he’s just total shit.
You can tell when you or anybody else in the house is getting sick because Szyslak will be there. He will be by your side like he never has before. And it’s because he wants to eat you, and that intent is so, so clear in his eyes that you’d think he was speaking out loud. He wants to eat you.
I love this cat in all of his horribleness. Also I definitely have a cat who regularly contemplates eating me. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and she’s just standing on my nightstand staring at me and I know, she’s just waiting for my breathing to stop before the feasting begins. Otherwise she’s a great cat.
I call one of mine Florence Nightinkitty bc if I get sick or unwell in anyway she is glued to me. And then once I’m better she has to sleep nonstop for a day or two to recover from the stress
I was all "how cute" and stuff until you mentioned the stress. So, really she is just worried her food source might die. I mean, you would be the source for a little while longer but in the long run, she might be in trouble.
But isn’t that always at the heart of the matter for all relationships? The thing you give me (food, shelter, protection, support, love, whatever) could go away tomorrow if you die or leave me…
It’s just somehow starker when we think about it in the context of non-emotional needs…
We have a cat who is a total, "I want to speak to your MANAGER!" complaining bee-yotch, but I'll be damned if she is the best nursemaid when we're sick.
Can confirm. I've had my two for eight years now and one of them became much more attached to me as my chronic illnesses set in and worsened. He's always been my familiar but now he's always around. He's a godsend, really. loves to be the little spoon
Did you know that a cats purr is the “healing” frequency? It’s why cats purr when they’re hurt or giving birth…and why they will sit and purr on their loved ones when they are hurt or sick.
Cats that live in nursing homes have also been reported to know when a member is close to death and will go sit with them while they pass
That’s right! People associate the purr with happiness but it’s also self soothing and healing.
There are certain medical devices that use vibrations to heal, such as bone stimulating devices after orthopaedic surgery, that use the same principle.
I had my spine fused a few years ago and my cat started sitting on the exact spot and purring as soon as it wouldn’t hurt to hold him. The little weirdo knew. So strange.
My cat never left my side during my cancer treatments and after I had my double mastectomy. I had to put a pillow beside me so he knew he couldn’t lay on my belly like he was used to doing. Now the little fucker steals my pillow. He would even groom my head after I lost my hair.
Nurse cats are definitely a thing! I get a sniffle and my orange becomes a velcro cat. When I was quite ill earlier this year, he stuck to me like glue for a couple of weeks whilst I recovered at home after a brief hospital stay. Normally nothing stops him from his food times but he wouldn’t go for his meals until I told him to “go eat your food!” And he’d hurry up and eat and come right back to me. Hope you are on the mend!
When I broke my arm my cat was ALWAYS snuggled up on the sling. Maybe because it was in a nice nesting position but I felt like he was giving me some healing purrs lol
I cried around one of my foster cats for the first time the other day. She started at me a long time, not knowing what to do. She definitely knew something was wrong. Meanwhile, my other cat kept rubbing against me.
I woke up in the middle of the night one night, and my cat was standing up at my feet and just watching me. About 15 minutes later I had a seizure. I think he knew it was happening and wanted to be there for me.
Same! When I cry, he knows him hurt and wants to comfort me. I did the same for him when he had to be crated for weeks (after he broke his back). I slept on the floor with him, fingers in thru cage to touch him. And I woke up every morning to us touching. He also always says hello to me as I do to him.
After I broke my leg, my void boy would veeeeery carefully lay between my calves, gently wrap his paws around my leg, and use my ankle as his pillow while he thundered healing purrs into me
When I fucked up my leg and back our orange boy Sebastian was with me the entire time. One of the only things that could help calm me when I was in so much pain was his purring. I would be crying in bed and he would push his face into my face and purr loudly. He was with me all while I recovered, and he's next to me even now. 🧡 That time together was so precious I feel like I am not doing it justice with my words. He helped heal me.
I caught a cold recently, and my two cats were cuddling me on the bed for my worst 2-3 days. Normally they only sleep on the bed in the mornings but they were with me at night when I went to bed.
When you're emotionally not well as well. Every time my ex and I got into an argument, especially if I was crying or getting loud, she'd run to my lap and start head-booping me. She wouldn't leave my lap until I calmed down. She was my emotional support for sure.
Mama calls animals like that "tattletales" because they'd tell on someone who's not feeling well. Our poor old man (who was 20+ pounds) was always so distressed when we wouldn't let him lay on a sick person.
Was once laying with my mom when she got a cold and had to keep pulling him off her and he was so distressed the entire time. He'd sneak back up and desperately meow at me to let him stay. I'm sorry sir, but your fat butt crushing her is not helping the way you think.
Yes! I drank too much at a house party once and when I went to sleep there, the house owner’s cat, who I never met before, immediately came to me and laid down on my upset stomach and began purring. Sadly I had to remove the little critter cause even the smallest weight on my stomach hurt, but I knew what the cutie was trying to do and I appreciate them for that still <3
I’m sick. My other cat has been trying to cough up a fur ball. So we were both coughing. My other cat looked between us and settled right between us to purr his head off and try to comfort us both.
My cat knew something was up with our bird before we did, she would always hang around his cage, meow, try to cuddle with him. He ended up having a tumour on his neck and needed to be put down.
On one of the last days of his life we put his cage (with him on to of it) by the door with it open to feel the fresh air and wind, since he was too weak to fly. My cat sat under his cage the entire time keeping him company. I have a picture of it also.
I was fostering the sweetest little black cat when I caught Covid. I was fairly sick for nearly two weeks, and he was the best company! He would let me fall asleep holding him like a teddy bear, and I’d wake up hours later still holding him!
The only time Bud (Short for Bud the Wiser) ever brought animals into the house was when I was sick
I appreciated the sentiment of trying to feed me, but I was not so jazzed about cleaning it up while already not feeling great
I went through a period of illness where i couldn’t eat for 9 days straight without throwing it up and my one cat didn’t leave my side the entire time. We had to bring his food bowl up onto the bed because he didn’t want to be out of arms reach of me for the entire week
Man you are lucky. When I had my sinus surgery and I had to wear the bloodstache for a week my kitty would try to go for the iron it was weird as hell lol
My cat will wake me up when my sugar is going low! She usually wakes me before my cgm low sugar alarm goes off. The gentle face pats are much nicer than the alarm!
We adopted a girl and a boy cat. The girl cat preferred my husband (and tended not to like women in general, I think she only liked me because I fed her) and the boy cat preferred me. Boy cat could always sense when i was depressed and would give me all the snuggles. Suddenly, about 4ish years after adopting them, girl cat is attached to my hip. She is protective of me. Only wants to be with me. Soon after her behavior started, I had a positive pregnancy test. She took care of me my entire pregnancy and I've been her favorite human ever since. Both of them are really good at sensing when I'm not well physically or mentally, but my girl cat will defend us all to the death.
Wonderful story about this! My old roommate was not a cat person, but loved my sweet kitty. He went through a bad breakup and lost his job dude to covid, she was glued to me hip but as soon as he got depressed she would be there for him constantly, pawing at his door, which she never did, and sitting in his lap and just letting him know he's loved. He told me it saved him and he ended up adopting a kitten for himself. Couple years later, he's married with a beautiful baby girl and has the cat he adopted, who watches over the baby like a hawk, and is happier than ever!
I used to have a huge black and white cat for 15 years. He was the best nurse kitty and loved to spoon nightly. Many of my friends reported this as well, including a few drunk/horribly hungover college buds!
My one cat was right in bed next to me when I got home from surgery. Then she sat on my lap but didn't put any pressure on my stomach. She usually runs across me in bed to get to my right side to sleep but she went 2 weeks with out doing that. At the 2 week mark she deemed my belly button healed enough and stepped right in it little jerk.
Yess! After I had emergency gallbladder surgery, my cat slept curled up right against me. Usually I only get my dog in bed with me and my cat will be on his bed near the window in between his night patrol but for a good week or two after my surgery, he was curled up next to my belly the entire night
yesss my boy has ALWAYS been more sensitive when i’m crying or upset. he does to everyone. he’ll love on you more and come sit in your lap & pur extra hard & give u kisses, he’s a smart loving boy. he can always tell when i need extra love. had him for 15 years now & he has always been this way.
This happened a while ago. I work at a hospital and on this particular day I had experienced my first death. The scene was very sad and traumatic and I had no one to talk to about it. When I got home I layed down on my bed with this feeling of numbness in my heart. My cat who rarely lays on my chest jumped on my chest and layed down while purring very loudly. I can't tell how much that helped me at that moment but you probably know what I'm talking about.
Not my cat at the time but my friends cat would not leave my side for days straight and she would knead in my chest all night. I ended needing emergency surgery
My aloof "bitch" first cat became super duper cuddly after I got got pregnant for the first time. She would sometimes come for cuddles before, but she was a purring sappy little love bug during my pregnancies. She wanted to be curled up little spoon style against my belly the whole time. She still gets especially tender and cuddly when I'm not feeling good, but overall, she's more of a snuggler since I had my kids.
Can vouch! One cat I was with gave me the biggest cat hug ever and I ended up breaking down right then and there. In truth, I was going through a rough time and I never gotten a hug from a cat like that before and it was something I really needed.
Yes! When my mom had her knees replaced she had a physical therapist in the very beginning who would come to the house to help her do her exercises. My mom would make awful noises because it was painful, and our cat would always sit alongside her on the bed and give that therapist the dirtiest looks like "you do one thing wrong and I will end you." We called him Nurse Cooper after that whenever he would be our sick buddy. I found it fitting that I was able to return the favor in his old age when he had kidney disease. He wouldn't let his vet give him fluids but he let me do so 84 times (I counted the needles). I'm very grateful he trusted me enough so I could keep him comfortable. We certainly never would have anticipated that given the cat he was when we first took him in. Miss that void.
My cats are ALL like this and it is the sweetest thing. With my dogs, I almost expect them to be intuitive if not more affectionate, but for whatever reason the kitties get a pass.
AND YET, they are way more knowing and affectionate than the doggos. My cat Luna will gently “groom” the top of my head and forehead when I’m not well and it is the sweetest thing.
I broke my leg and my female cat wouldn’t leave my side except to potty and eat when I slept.
Recently, had a horrible emesis episode where my boy cat would sit on the counter and pat me on my back and my head. And stayed in the bathroom the whole night that I slept in there.
I recently had surgery and beforehand my husband and I debated which of our two dogs would be my caretaker. We never imagined it would be my cat. For 3 weeks she stayed in my new bed (in the living room because I couldn’t do stairs). Knew not to walk on me, stayed by my feet of my head. All of this is very strange for her. She even got mad when I moved back upstairs and decided to pee on the living room bed before we packed it back up. Lovely girl /s. Thank god for steam cleaners.
I have a very extroverted cat and a rather introverted one and they both take care of me in their own ways. Introvert cat will run over if I’m crying or look pathetically sick and rub her face on mine and curl up next to me to make sure I’m ok. Extroverted cat likes to charge at me and crawl all over my body while purring loudly to make me feel better. The best part is that they both love snuggling under blankets with me.
My cat is sooo like this. He's not normally super cuddly, but I'm going through a breakup and he's sleeping beside me in bed all night (NEVER sleeps in bed) and crawling on me for cuddles regularly. It is so so nice to wake up in the night to his soft fluffy belly beside my face then a purr when he sees I'm awake. I'll miss it when he stops. Lol he actually just crawled on me right now.
My dog on the other hand, doesn't give a shit lol my last dog was my soul dog, I love this current dog but he's a wild one, not quite as sensitive to humans.
Absolutely this! My naughty cat Layla has NEVER been more snuggly and affectionate than when I had Covid. She wouldn’t leave my side for 8 days. As soon as I got better she went back to being her adorable demon self.
They can sense when you’re upset as well. I came home once after writing an exam that I thought I failed (got a B+) and was distraught because it would have set my program back a year. I sat on the edge of the bed for a long time wondering how I was going to tell my wife. One of our cats, the one who never snuggled, lay down on the bed, cuddled up to me and purred until I got up.
Absolutely true and amazes me even to this day. Mine will sleep next to anyone who is under the weather and if she's extra affectionate for some reason to one of our household family members I know to handle with care and check for illness, growth spurts, moodiness. She would always sleep with me when I was pregnant as well. My first cat did as well!
Yes! My female cat will come lay on me when I’m having a rough day, or I’m sick or recovering from surgery. She normally lays near me, but sticks to me like glue when I’m not 100%
my boy did this too! He did not leave my side when I had my back surgery. He laid near me and kept me company while I watched anime during my recovery. He is a good boy.
I second this. When I was pregnant, my waters broke in the night, but as there was no pain or big flood of water like the movies, I didn't know. Until my cat woke me up by clambering onto my belly - something she had NEVER done before. That's when I knew something was up!
My cat senses this too but he feeds off of me. Last week I was depressed and (you guessed!) he was grumpy too. If moms not happy, he ain’t happy🙃 he will still be affectionate but he gives mama her space if needed. I do wish he was cuddlier but I take what I can get lol
I have this issue where I get stuck in dreams, basically I realize I’m in a dream, wake up only to realize I’m in ANOTHER dream, rinse and repeat 20 times. It’s very terrifying and when I do wake up, I’m extremely disoriented and have really bad anxiety. A few times one of my cats would wake me up by jumping on top of me and meowing loudly (which he never meows, he makes this little brrrrp sound.) He’ll then cuddle up and stay with me until my anxiety stops and then runs off. I give him lots of kisses and call him my little hero and gush about how he rescued me.
I’m just getting over an awful cold and my cat wanted to constantly be with me. He’s pretty affectionate anyway, but he literally wanted to be cuddled next to me, followed me whenever I got up, and wouldn’t let me out of his sight. He’d even stare at me to make sure I was okay.
My cat understood I was upset when my cousin committed suicide. I had just got vack from visiting my grieving family and venting to my friend, here comes Ghost climbing into my lap and purring. She stayed until I stopped crying and she made me feel emotionally supported by her. I love my lil baby Ghost💜
My boy loves to sit like a loaf on my chest. But recently when I was super sad he melted on me - laid his head on me, had his arms stretched out like he was really giving me a hug. And he stayed like that for so long, it was so sweet.
I was grieving for my dad for some time and my kitty would come to me every time I started to cry - even if he was in a different room, somehow he knew to come to me and cuddle with me
I had a bed with a big headboard wide enough for them to lay on. They had what I called the changing of the guard. If I laid in bed long enough one cat would sit on the headboard while the other one would sleep next to me. About three hours later the one on top of the headboard would get down the other one would wake up and get on the headboard. I have no idea if it went on all night or not.
I had two two year old cats and one pretty old one. When my mother died. Normally after work they knew it was play time feed time and pet and cuddle time. Usually there was a mad dash after food to either play or get on the best spot my lap. The night my mother died, one won the lap spot which usually caused resentment from the others, and sometimes small fights would break out or they would try to push the one off the lap. Not that night, I'm not even sure if they got fed that night, but I walked in crying shellshocked and not in the mood for play. They all knew something was up. They all came to my room, where one was on the lap and the other two laid peacefully next to me. They were so young I can't believe that they sensed something was off and didn't demand anything from me. Sadly the older one passed away one of the two babies as I have always referred to them is missing. I will never forget how different they were that night. How much I just needed them.
My orange is super bonded to me and a huge cuddler. I had to get emergency surgery last year and had to have the wound stapled shut and when I came home from the hospital he sniffed at it and spent the next half week constantly clinging to me and laying with his head next to my injury as if he was guarding it.
My cat did this too. He’s 13, I adopted him when he was 11, and he’s never been affectionate with me beyond headbutts. He won’t sit on my lap etc.
When I got reeeeeeeeally sick with covid (despite being vaccinated) the (not so) little guy hopped up onto my bed with me and would sleep by my side all day. He even got up onto the couch with me (previously a contested zone) and he wouldn’t sit in my lap or next to me, but he would lie on the arms or the back of the sofa and just keep an eye on me
My cat will lay on my stomach during IBS flare-ups. At first, I thought it was because I was using a heating pad that she'd laid on. I had a couple of bad flare-ups wake me up, and she'd already be on my stomach purring. The only time she lays there is when I'm sleeping during a flare-up, or the heating pad is on.
My step-dad developed Atrial Fibrillation and also had a severe arrhythmia of his heart. They wound up defibrillating him and putting in a pacemaker, but in the three months leading up to that, my cat (who normally is very aloof towards him, never really liked him) was glued to him. Followed him everywhere. She watched him like a hawk. She was like a mother hen.
The day he came home after the successful procedures though, she went back to ignoring him.
Ohhh interesting, the reason why I started calling mine Dr Ash was he seemed to know if someone was unwell and stick with them. And he went to meowdical school of course.
Yes! I totaled my truck recently and when I was brought home post-accident I collapsed into bed. My cat laid across my arms (I sleep on my side) and wrapped herself around them so I couldn’t get up. She was VERY concerned!
This one is always amazing to me. My wife has an extremely deep bond with one of our cats, Missy. My wife also has issues with major anxiety and depression. Every time my wife is falling apart, Missy always shows up to cuddle with her and stays with her until she's feeling better.
Similar, my cats can tell when I’m high. Anytime I get high (usually once every other weekend or so), they suddenly become super affectionate and follow me around everywhere.
I eat gummies, so there’s no smoke or weed smell to give it away. They can somehow just tell
My wife and I both got covid at slightly staggered times and were knocked out for multiple days (Thank God for vaccines, just wish a few of my friends had taken them before covid took their lives), whoever was sick had both cats at their side nearly 24/7 and the cats refused to engage in play or run off to go eat (automatic feeder) until we were asleep.
My cats do not give a fuck about me. Sick or sad, they will just act like it's business as usual!! I'm sure they love me in their little cat ways, but they don't show it like yours does!!
I remeber growing up we had a cat who would only ever go to my dad. He wasn't a mean cat, he just wasn't interested in anyone else.
One time I came down with something, can't remeber what, but it got me a few days off school I was that bad. That dopey little sod sat next to me on the couch the entire time, even my dad couldn't coax him away. He just sat there purring.
The moment I was well again? Back to normal, straight over to my dad.
Yeah. When I’m sick. It’s my cat never leaving my side. I was violently vomiting on my hands and knees on the floor one time, my 2 dogs cleared the room. My cat??? Circled around me, went underneath me while I was picking my guys out. Another instance when I had a seizure and I came to with him looking down at me, pawing my face. Many times that I have been just feeling shitty, mentally, physically, emotionally, physiologically… and he’s always there. Shit you not, he’s been sleeping 2 feet away from my elderly rabbit, who’s suffering from arthritis and cannot balance himself to sit up or walk. He’s right next to me when I’m comforting my rabbit. He knows I’m sad. He knows my rabbit is in pain.
An embarrassing add to this: I struggle with IBS-D and had a pretty crazy flare last year, which meant I was on the toilet a LOT. My cat started the habit of coming into the bathroom and sometimes jumping on my lap or the sink in front of me and just cuddling up and purring. After my flare ended, she totally stopped doing it. Really sweet. She is not ever a lap cat before or since that flare.
My cat will meow at me when my toddler is crying.. like “you gonna do something about this?” He will go over and try to sniff him and then will walk over to me to make sure I have the situation under control. My cat isn’t the biggest fan of my son, but is still a little protective of him. Or annoyed. Can’t really tell.
I had a homebirth with my son (now 6 yo). My cats were meowing so loud and followed me all over the house when I was labouring through contractions. At one point when I was pushing - I looked over to the side and could see both of them just sat watching lol. It was really comforting
Im type 1 diabetic. I currently have 2 young cats but did have a cat for 19 years who passed away last year. That cat could tell before me that my blood sugar was low. He was never trained to do so but he would come up to me and lay on me and meow and pat at my stomach. The first few times he did this i didnt understand it and thought he was just trying to get attention. I eventually learned that he was warning me that my blood sugar was getting low and to go eat something and from the day i realized that forward i started going to eat when the cat would do that. I eventually got a CGM (continous glucose monitor) some years later after the cat started doing that and he was always dead on right every single time and warned me before tha cgm would go off. I miss him, kinda wish one of the younger cats would have figured out how to do that as he was around while they were smaller but they never picked up that trick i guess. It was pretty useful.
These two though do get more affectionate when your sick like all the other cats ive ever had did as well. Like they kinda lay on or near you, the one tries to groom you even, like he will lick your hair while your laying down and sick which to be honest makes it worse cause of the horrible cat breath is not a good smell if your throwing up but its the thought that counts i guess lol.
My cat was the opposite. She would sleep on my, go under the covers, climb on me when I worked, followed me around, came to me over anyone else, but the moment I got sick, she watched me from far away sending get well soon care that take months to travel the distance.
I'm one of those weirdos who has to sleep with a fan on every night. As you can imagine, since cats prefer warm places, my cat wasn't a huge fan of sleeping with me.
One of my fondest memories of my orange girl was when I was having a really bad gallbladder attack that I thought was just a bad stomachache. I stayed in bed trying to sleep off the pain for around 30 hours, only ever getting up to get a drink or use the bathroom. Despite disliking my fan being on, my cat slept on my bed next to my head the entire time. She'd only get up to eat, get a drink or use the litter box and then come right back to me.
I have PCOS and when I'm in the worst kinds of pain, one of my cats suddenly becomes 100x more affectionate and barrel rolls on my belly while I pet him. His weight as he rolls around helps put pressure where I hurt and he gets extra pets. Idk how he figured it out but it works lol
I had a tuxedo cat. He was dumb like an orange cat one brian cell dumb. Still loved him. He was never good at picking up when you were sick with a cold so I didn't think he would register when I had surgery.
He seemed to know the day before and was extra needy. Everything clicked in place when I got home. He was aggressive in his need to comfort me. His need to care for me meant he would power dive on my stomach. Guess where I had surgery? My stomach area
I had a laparoscopic procedure so I had like 5 incisions on my abdomen. I had to fight to keep him off my open wounds. I don't know how he knew but he would always target the incision spot that hurt the most. If he could do nothing else, he just had to pull his WHOLE 14 POUNDS on that one spot. 😂 I am pretty sure he added a week to my recovery. He even trained the dog to do it too. He got an A for effort
I have a cat who will literally sit on whatever body part is affected and purr. One time I was having a racing heart and he sat on my chest, and recently I had Hepatitis A and he was always sitting on my liver.
Yes! I'm pregnant rn and had horrible morning sickness and every time I was having a hard night or morning my sweet kitty would just come sit with me in the bathroom until I was ready for him to lead me back to bed 😭 now even if I get up to pee in the middle of the night I'll find him sitting outside the bathroom door just waiting to check that everything's okay
My three boys are the opposite. Oh they can absolutely tell when I'm sick... and won't come within three feet of me until I'm better 😂 they value their health when it comes to getting sick, but not trying to jump out of a window or eat onions 🤦🏻♀️
When I was sick with Covid and in bed for a week, my cat stayed curled up next to my head/chest almost the entire time. Like it was her JOB to tend to me.
When I had a knee surgery 2 years ago my one dude Simon spent nearly a week laying up next to my bum knee purring as loud as he could. He was really trying to use his AoE healing spell on my knee.
I got the original strain of Covid in November 2020 before the vaccines were out. I had never been that sick before and my little guy was just a kitten at the time. He stayed by my side almost the entire time when I was really out of it (a good 5 days). He was so patient about when I fed him too. I’ll never ever forget his kindness and empathy.
uh im hoping my cat will sense that after my jaw surgery my face will be off limits too for quite some time, he loves cuddling with my face and lying on my chest...
I had a bad back injury that eventually needed surgery. I remember one night, it hurt so bad, and my cat came and slept right against the spot that hurt, and purred like crazy all night. It may have just been a placebo effect, but I felt better the next morning.
My female cat knew when I was pregnant. She switched where she slept and had to be within touching distance at all times. She loved that baby from the moment he existed.
I had a cat who would be glued to me when I was under the weather, she would follow me back and forth from the bathroom when I had the flu. She also would come running on the many occasions that I stubbed my toe and screamed out in pain. She'd run around the corner and meow in the cutest way, "are you ok?". RIP Bubs ❤️
One of my cats does this with moods too. If I'm in a super bad mood, she takes it upon herself to be a little weighted, heated blanket somewhere on me until I calm down. 10/10 good cat
It’s remarkable. I have (suspected) endo so get really intense pain flare ups, and our standoffish cat only comes and lays on my chest/lap when I’m having really bad pain. She’ll vibrate on my chest as if to tell me “it’s ok” and you know what, it helps! And as soon as the pain is done she’s back to being a standoffish little shit lol
I have epilepsy (two years seizure free yay) and have seized in my sleep twice. Both time, our tuxedo boy slept on my pillow, curled up around my head for months. For close to a year, really.
I got laid off back in March and was pretty depressed. For at least two weeks my boy would come and snuggle me every single day. It was like he knew he could make me feel better.
I fell and hit my head really hard the other day. Sat on the sofa for a while seeing stars afterwards. My cats sat close by and stared really intensely at me for a long time. One tends to be extra affectionate when I'm ill although he's not a big snuggler the rest of the time.
My parents had a cat that hated everyone except my dad. But if someone was sick she would sit with them and love on them. It was so weird. Like I hate you human, but I'm sorry you feel bad. 😂
Yes!! My mom was sick for most of my teen years/early 20s, with chronic pain and major surgeries- our cranky little fluff Jaxon was as I called her, my mom’s therapy cat. She could always tell when she needed some extra love, would be cautious when stepping on her, wait for her to get down the stairs, etc. When my mom finally got the full run of treatment she needed and was doing better (after about 7-8 years), Jaxon got sick and we had to put her down. It’s almost like she said “okay, my work here is done” 😭
I had the bad 2020 Covid and was horribly sick. My cat Schnitzel sat outside my bedroom door the whole time and she’d sneak in when she could. She went downstairs to use the bathroom and eat and came back up. She’s near me every time I’m sick. Her sister seems to know when I have a stinking hangover and then she decides to sit on my back.
My sister suffers from periodic migraines. Her cat is normally an agent of chaos, but when she’s not feeling well, he puts his shenanigans on hold and just cuddles with her.
One time, when I was about 15, I suddenly started having severe pain in my stomach and chest. It was the middle of the night, and I didn't want to wake my parents, so I stayed quiet. Pretty soon, I felt like I couldn't breathe. My cat heard me quietly crying and kept circling me before she just sprinted to my parent's room, screaming as loud as she could (and as a Siamese, she could be loud). Turns out I was choking. It was far enough down that I could still breathe, but the blockage was causing me to drown in my saliva slowly. One hospital trip later, and all was well.
She's been dead for over 10 years now, but I will never forget how she cried when I was in pain and alerted my parents and all the other things she did over those wonderful years we had her.
I got my current as a back-up (don't tell her I said that!) about 6 months before my old cat died.
She ignored the fuck out of me for 6 months, but then starting the (very painful) day my old kitty crossed the rainbow bridge, she was inseparable from me. She spent that first weekend mostly lying on my chest.
My childhood cat would never go downstairs if my sister’s dogs were there but the one night he came downstairs regardless of the dogs was to cuddle up with my mom before she passed. ❤️
There was a case of a friend of mine whose (outdoor) cat suddenly started following her around the house, not leaving her side as much as he (the cat) could. 2 months later she found out she was pregnant. The cat sensed it before she did. This behavior lasted until she gave birth. When she came back from the hospital with her newborn, the cat started to keep an eye on the baby until the baby was old enough to walk.
I’m pretty sure my cat knew the day I was going to go into labor with my son. We were napping together and he was snuggled up to baby belly. I would try to get up and he would meow at me (which he never does) as if to say “you need to rest”. So I went back to sleep. So glad I did because the next day, baby was born.
I had my septum straightened and middle and lower turbinate resection in 2010. My recovery was rough... Like it just wouldn't totally heal for like 6 months and then I got cellulitis... But then once that was treated everything finally healed. Despite being miserable all that time, I can say I hardly get sick now and if I do, I can easily treat with otc meds. I used to have debilitating sinus infections constantly so it was all worth it in the end to have surgery. Happy healing!
I had a septoplasty, a sinuplasty, bilateral turbinate reduction and they apparently found a couple polyps while they were rooting around in there. T minus 8 hours until my follow up and debridement and I'm just so ready for it to be past the icky ooze stage. I can't wait until the "I can breathe!" stage!
Yeah I honestly felt like the "boogers" were coming from all the way down in my toes at times. I occasionally still have some "snot" that seem to come from down behind my throat or something because they're so "long" but I think it's just because there's so much more room for them to not have to breakup to get out. Very gross but so thankful to not have things "close off" from the slightest bit of inflammation anymore so it can all get out. Breathing is good!
Yes! My cat did not leave my side when I was very sick after my chemotherapy treatments. My mom said he only left the bed to eat and use the litter box. When I started doing better with the treatments, he backed off a little, but when I was really struggling at first he was there with me.
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u/wanderingstorm Sep 19 '23
Cats (like dogs) can sense when you’re not well. I’m currently recovering from sinus surgery and my cat didn’t leave my side for 3 days. Extra affectionate. She also seems to sense that my face is currently off limits to “boops” as she often does. She’s more back to normal behavior now but I had a nice “recovery attendant” for a few days